Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

1st Mate - new "Man Overboard" and Theft Deterrent system

by Mercury Marine 15 Sep 2020 02:52 PDT
1st Mate equipment © Mercury Marine

On the water, safety is an absolute priority.

Which is why Mercury has developed 1st Mate, the world's first engine-integrated "man overboard" and proximity-based theft deterrent system.

Using wearable technology for up to eight people, 1st Mate turns the engine off or sounds an alarm during a "man overboard" event, and can also send notifications to emergency contacts. If the proximity of the fob is not in range, the system disables or puts the engine in guardian mode.

1st Mate is composed of an intelligent hub, a set of wearable devices, and a mobile app which integrates with a boat's propulsion systems.

"Man overboard" monitoring and warning system

This system protects a boat's captain and up to seven passengers.

If the system detects that the captain has fallen overboard, the device sends alerts to the system's hub, its app and all the passengers' wearable devices. The system cuts the engines and sends specific instructions to the passengers' cell phones via the app.

The instructions guide the passengers through restarting the engines and safely steering the boat back to the location of the incident.

If a passenger falls overboard, the system likewise sends alerts to the captain and other passengers. The captain receives heading instructions to return the boat to the location of the overboard event.

Distress messaging

If a boat's captain is alone and the system detects that the captain has fallen overboard, it sends a distress message to a list of emergency contacts detailing the GPS location, time and date of the event.

Theft deterrence

Theft-deterrence capabilities vary according to the boat's engine technologies but in all cases, the system provides engine-locking functions. For boats powered by Mercury outboards with SmartCraft technology, the system not only requires an "unlock" command from the captain's app or wearable device, but also requires engines that have been removed from the boat to detect a "handshake" from the system before they can be restarted.

Safety is crucial, so to find out more, simply visit your nearest Mercury Dealer, go to the Mercury Marine website or simply click here.

Related Articles

All smiles among first finishers of the AEGEAN 600
The fastest teams crossed the finish line today at Cape Sounion As the fastest teams crossed the finish line today at Cape Sounion and made their way to the harbour at Olympic Marine, there were exhausted smiles all around. Posted on 10 Jul
British Classic Week day 4
It was a classic Solent day in Cowes for the OneSails inshore race It was a classic Solent day in Cowes for day 4 of British Classic Week with hot temperatures, sunshine and no breeze in the morning before the sea breeze kicked in from the west and it was time to go racing. Posted on 10 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 5
Finalists locked in for new Medal Series format With the sea breeze stubbornly refusing to make an appearance, Day 5 of the iQFOiL World Championship turned into a long waiting game both ashore and on the water. Posted on 10 Jul
Jazz Turner Video Interview
How she Faced Everything And Rose during Project FEAR I travelled to Brighton Marina to catch up with Jazz, talking about her own sailing, the challenges she faced during the circumnavigation, how the money raised will be used, and a glimpse of her future projects! Posted on 10 Jul
CYCS SailMV's Vineyard Cup Preview
The regatta will feature stunning classics racing around the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard. The second Classic Yacht Challenge Series (CYCS) event of the 2025 season gets under way on Friday, July 11 with the Vineyard Cup organized by Sail Martha's Vineyard (SailMV). Posted on 10 Jul
America's Cup: Luna Rossa to sail for Naples club.
Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest the next America's Cup as the team of a Naples club. Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest its seventh America's Cup as the team of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia of Naples, as club that is new to the America's Cup. Posted on 10 Jul
International Moth Worlds at Lake Garda Day 3
Big breeze in the morning, calm in the afternoon The third day of racing at the 2025 Moth World Championship kicked off early, with the first warning signal for the Blue fleet scheduled for 8:30 AM. Due to strong northerly winds, however, the fleet's departure was postponed to 9:00. Posted on 10 Jul
Introducing the Micro Gateway from Cyclops Marine
Live load data, simplified - smaller, smarter, even more connected At Cyclops Marine, we're driven by the pursuit of precision, performance, and progress. As the marine industry continues to embrace digital transformation, our technology is evolving rapidly. Posted on 10 Jul
Everything to know about The Ocean Race Europe
One month to go to the race start in Kiel One month out from the start of the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe seven mixed-gender crews made up of sailors from across 13 nations are in the throes of their final preparations for the Race start in Kiel, Germany. Posted on 10 Jul
The countdown to the Race to Mackinac
2025 is a landmark year for the Chicago Yacht Club 2025 is a landmark year for the Chicago Yacht Club and the Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust Financial Corporation. Posted on 10 Jul
Switch One DesignRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERHenri-Lloyd Dynamic Range